The long-dormant female-led spin-off of the The Expendables franchise may finally be heading back into battle. More than a decade after it was first announced, The Expendabelles is reportedly being revived as producers look to breathe new life into the aging action property with a fresh team of mercenaries — this time led entirely by women.
According to reports tied to the recent Cannes market, production companies Eclectic Pictures and Hollywood Ventures Group are actively developing the project as a “female-driven expansion” of the franchise launched by Sylvester Stallone in 2010. The film is said to function as an origin story set during the late 1990s amid Y2K paranoia and rising geopolitical tension. No cast, writer, or director has officially been attached yet.
The project has had one of the longest development journeys in modern action cinema. Originally announced in 2012 under Millennium Films, the spin-off was envisioned as an all-female counterpart to the testosterone-heavy franchise that united icons like Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. At various points, names such as Milla Jovovich, Cameron Diaz, and Meryl Streep were reportedly discussed for potential involvement.
A previous version of the film nearly moved forward in 2014 with Robert Luketic attached to direct, but the project eventually stalled. By 2022, Millennium executive Jeffrey Greenstein admitted the movie had effectively been shelved after creatives struggled to justify why the team specifically needed to be all women rather than simply integrating more female characters into the main franchise.
Now, the concept appears to have found a second life as studios continue searching for recognizable franchise extensions in the action genre. The revival has already sparked debate online, with some fans excited by the possibility of assembling a dream team of female action stars, while others question whether the spin-off can establish its own identity beyond being marketed as “The Expendables with women.”
If the film does move forward, it could offer a major showcase for veteran and modern action talent alike — potentially opening the door for stars such as Michelle Yeoh, Charlize Theron, Lucy Liu, or Michelle Rodriguez to headline the next generation of big-screen mercenaries.
SOURCE: THR
